Nanomaterials can be divided into four categories as nanopowders, nanofibers, nanofilms and nanoblocks. Nanofilms and nanoblocks are generally formed by nanopowders. Therefore, the synthesis of nanopowders is very important. Synthesis techniques for nanopowders can be generally divided into vapor deposition methods and liquid deposition methods. Vapor deposition methods can be used to form high-purity nanopowders. However, vapor deposition methods have relatively low production capabilities and require high energy consumptions, and thereby are seldom used. Among liquid deposition methods, a typical precipitation reaction method is widely used. The precipitation reaction method is advantageous to accurately control composition of a compound during processing, can achieve uniform mixing at the atomic or molecular level, and can be employed for synthesizing particles of single composition or multi-constituent compounds.
However, the precipitation reaction method is generally accomplished in an agitator tank or a stirred-tank reactor. In the agitator tank or the stirred-tank reactor, precipitation reactions cannot react substantially, and utilization ratios of reactants are relatively low. In addition, sizes of particles are relatively big, liquid-liquid mixings on the micro level cannot be mixed uniformly. Nanopowders cannot disperse uniformly and are prone to be congregated, which results big particle sizes of the nanopowders.
What is needed, therefore, is a nanopowder synthesis apparatus which synthesizes super-minute nanopowders.
What is also needed, therefore, is a nanopowder synthesis method which synthesizes super-minute nanopowders.